[Husker] Non-expert opinionst

[Mike Nolan]

> Wisconsin is far better than any other team in the B1G.  If NU plays like
> they did in the first quarter on Saturday, NU will be fine, but I look
> forward to Nebraska playing a complete game.  OSU looked incompetent and
> MSU not much better.  Penn St looked bad and Northwestern couldn't beat
> MSU.  Michigan looks to be improving and playing them on the road will
> be tough, but not as tough as Wisconsin.

Um, Northwestern wasn't playing MSU, they were playing Illinois,
ranked #24 last week and #19 this week.  Northwestern plays MSU 
in the season finale in Evanston.  

Like Wisconsin, Illinois had a hot QB-receiver pair hook up on Saturday,
for three TDs.  But Northwestern was still just one defensive stop 
away from winning the game, which was a lot better than Nebraska did 
against Wisconsin.  (And yet the post-game traffic on the Northwestern
list was remarkably similar to the post-game traffic on the Husker
List about how coaching changes were needed--IMMEDIATELY!)  

I think Illinois is the 2nd best team in its division, possibly
the 2nd best team in the conference, and that division is likely to 
come down to the Wisconsin-Illinois game on Nov 19th, just like our 
division could still come down to the Nebraska-Iowa game on the day after
Thanksgiving.  

Michigan is looking better every week, though, and I agree that playing 
in the Big House will be a tough assignment for the Huskers, as they've 
got a QB who can fling it and is at least as fast on his feet as TM.

ESPN still has Northwestern tabbed as going to a bowl game, but having 
given away two wins I'm a bit worried that they will have trouble getting 
to 6-6.  But if Dan Persa is healthy and the Nebraska secondary plays
as poorly as it did in Madison, the Huskers could lose to Northwestern.

Persa is a better passer than Martinez (whose mechanics are flawed,
possibly uncorrectable) though not as fast a runner, and Jeremy Ebert 
is his favorite target.  Persa may be stronger than TM, too, he shook 
off a would-be tackler to break free for a nice gain on a play where 
it looked like he was going to get sacked.  
--
Mike Nolan